Percival P. Baxter
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Percival Proctor Baxter (November 22, 1876 – June 12, 1969) was a Republican governor of the U.S. state of Maine who served from 1921 to 1925.
He was born in Portland and was a member of the Maine House of Representatives during 1905 and during 1917–1920. He served in the Maine State Senate during 1909–1910. He also served as a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1920, 1924, and 1928.
Perhaps his most well-known contribution to the state was in the form of Baxter State Park, the crown jewel of the Maine State Park system and home to Maine's tallest mountain: Mt. Katahdin. He pushed for many years for the state to buy the land, and eventually through a combination of his own personal resources and fundraising was able to purchase most of what is now Baxter State Park and cede it to the state. He also deeded his summer home in Falmouth to create the Governor Baxter School For The Deaf (founded 1957 from what was Maine School For The Deaf), which still operates today.
Other contributions to the state included reforming Maine’s public education system, fighting with some success for conservation and built a new State prison as well as initiating penal reform.